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Altcoins Struggle as Bitcoin Regains 50% Market Share

Bitcoin’s market capitalization has regained its share of half the crypto economy, latest figures have shown. This is the first time Bitcoin will cross the 50% mark (50.7%) since the start of 2018 following a bearish crypto market which has seen many investors move into altcoins. It means that of the current $213 bln total market cap, about $108 bln is into Bitcoin (at $6,299/BTC) as at the time of this writing making it worth more than all other cryptocurrencies combined.

The remainder 1817 cryptocurrencies – as per CoinMarketCap listing – jostle for what is left of which about $86 bln is shared among the top 19 after Bitcoin. Most of those who jumped into altcoins earlier for perceived opportunities have seemingly reversed. While it doesn’t necessarily mean that all altcoins are useless or not competitive enough as there is not a single use case for blockchain technology, it brings again to fore the debate on whether altcoins have real value. It also calls to question the viability of ICOs and the ideas they push to be more critically accessed. On top of that is the belief that more blockchain-based projects with token assets are finding it increasingly challenging to access cryptocurrency exchanges.

Altcoins, in a way, add to Bitcoin’s price value because it is usually used to buy or exchange into most other tokens. However, the altcoin season seems to be in the past as a lower Bitcoin price tends to expose many of them especially those that are over-valued. The season is not likely to come back soon due to the perceived lack of real value despite the enormous gains made at the time and the view that they all spiked due to their ride with the Bitcoin rally of late 2017.

There are presumably several other cryptocurrencies that are superior to Bitcoin in terms of technology and speed but most of them are all strongly correlated with Bitcoin for its first-mover advantage and for having the largest network. Bitcoin is considered the biggest blockchain use case and a safe haven against the storm in the market. On the other hand, a lot of altcoins are believed to exist because they are profitable and could be easily pumped and dumped. Will their time ever come again or will they continue to be seen as a form of digital tools that separate investors from their Bitcoin?